New images of Chevrolet Essentia compact sedan surface online; here is what to expect

The American carmaker Chevrolet is gearing up for the launch of its compact sedan in India after staying off the roads for almost a year. Essentia, the company's first offering in the compact sedan segment in the country, has been caught on camera on a couple of occasions while undergoing testing.

The latest set of Essentia images comes from MotorBeam. The images show the camouflaged Essentia compact sedan and do not give away any details of the model. However, the sighting of the model on Indian roads means the automaker is getting ready for the launch. Chevrolet is expected to launch Essentia in India later this year.

Chevrolet Essentia is designed in the GM Korea Design Studio. The company had showcased the model at the Auto Expo last year in India. It is expected to come powered by a 1.2-litre STEC II engine that can churn out 77bhp and 107Nm and the diesel mill will be a 1.0-litre XSDE unit that can develop 56bhp and 142.5Nm. Both engines will be mated to a five-speed manual gearbox.

Essentia is expected to get a split grille with a bowtie logo at the front along with swept back smoked headlamps. While the side profile of the compact sedan will take design cues from the Beat, the Essentia is expected to come with two-tone upholstery inside the cabin. The compact sedan of Chevrolet is expected to get Beat-like interior and is likely to feature Mylink2 infotainment system with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity.

The model will enter the highly competitive compact sedan segment in India, which already has players like Maruti Suzuki Swift DZire, Ford Figo Aspire, Hyundai Xcent, Honda Amaze, Volkswagen Ameo and Tata Zest. Tata's Tigor, popularly known as the Kite 5 will also join the league soon.